Is Religion important? Does Religion separate people rather than uniting them? Should I believe in god?

Question

I'm confused about life. Christians say that if you lie and don't believe in god, you'll go to hell And Buddhists say that you must believe in Buddha, be reincarnated to another life and strive to reach Nirvana. But when you look back at history, Roman Catholism split into many other religions (ex, protestant, lutheran, quaker, Anglican), who all grew to hate each other, when they all believe in the same god. And earlier, Christians and Jews didn't get along, even though their religion formed in the same area. should i become an atheist even though my parents believe in god?

Answer 1

Great question.

First, I don't think you can be an atheist. I think based on your questions that you have doubts, but you are not 100% sure that God does not exist. I can see why you are confused as if God's people are so loving, how can they be so angry with each other?

As a Christian (Roman Catholic), I can tell you that people who do not believe God exists go to Hell, since Hell is a place that is reserved for people who do not believe in Him. But, I don't hate other denominations or even other faiths. As a Christian, I am called to be tolerant. On the other hand, we do need to preach the word, which is where confusion sets in. How does a Christian tolerate another's religion, while, at the same time, disagree with them?

Prayer.

Answer 2

Don't be confused you are on the right track. The fact that there are soooo many different religions PROVES THAT GOD DOES NOT EXIST.

It does prove that god/God/GOD...whatever is a concept is a cultural construct created by and unique to homo sapiens.

Religion is a concept that has outlived its use fullness by about 1000 years...certainly since the age of enlightenment. In the world currently it is all too obvious that this true because virtually all worldwide conflicts are rooted in some sort of religious difference of opinion and would therefore not happen if there were no religion...right?

For example there may be no choice in IRAQ except to divide that country into three pieces (something the Brits should have done in 1949)...Why? Because they practice three different flavors of ISLAM and they REALLY HATE EACH OTHER....BROTHER.

So what do you think? Maybe we should all look at a good picture of the earth from the moon and figure out that we are all sharing a little blue marble in the middle of a whole lot of nowhere/everywhere...and THERE ISN'T ANY LIFE BOAT FOLKS...we're all stuck here together.

Here's the AWFUL TRUTH..that should scare the hell out of you!

99.7% of ALL SPECIES that have ever existed on this little blue marble are NOW EXTINCT! Where do you think OIL COMES FROM? ROTTING BUGS and PLANTS...swallowed by the earth by its geological processes.

In other words NATURE KILLS...and we are HELPING the process.

Answer 3

Yes religion is very divisive. Look at the climate in this country today. This country was not founded by or for God. This country was founded on the premise of religious freedom for all. And yet, there is an element in this country that wants to take over and make their way the only way. Should you believe in God or become an atheist. There are many ways in between the extremes. I believe in a Universal Conscienceness. I don't go to church any more but I pray. To the Universe. Choose what works for you for we must all make our own decisions.

Answer 4

You can try Islam ive had no problems with it .

Islam beleives that There is only 1 God

and The prophet mohamad

it also belives that jesus is also Gods prophet and Moses too is Gods prophet .

what Christians and Jews tend to forget or ignore is the Christians God and the Jews God and the muslims God

Is Exactly the Same God there is no other God out there.

Try to read a bit about islam youll learn that it dosnt have any problem .

Good luck

PS:Belive in god for God created this world [be a christian a jew or a muslim but believ in God ]

if you want to come at it from a logical point of view .hear this.

If there is a god and you didnt believe you would have to suffer in hell .

If there isnt [im not saying there isnt this is just for argument] and you belived in god then you have no problem .

Either way its best for you to Belive

All i have to say is learn about the religion before you decide .

My vote goes for Islam [im a muslim so im biased XD ]

Answer 5

If you examine religions from around the world, you will find some common unifying themes from all teachings. Religion is important in that it provides a guideline on how to live a good prosperous life. However, to follow something or someone blindly without asking questions is not the best way to practice religion. We live in a society today that is undergoing globalization. A set way of thinking that is rigid and does not allow for a mixing of cultural, spiritiual and social beliefs will alienate you from others. Religion is important, in that it can show all of us how to peacefully live together. Unfortunately, followers of different belief systems all believe that their way is best, and those who follow strict rigid religious guidelines are prone to strife.

You need to learn as much as you can about all belief systems, and find the one that works for you. There is no reason you cannot come up with your own belief system. In today's world, blind faith in one doctrine is not the answer. We need to find the common ground and unite as a people under those ideas which bind all of us together, instead of focusing on the differences and using religion as a means to create conflict.

Anyone who uses religion as a reason to create conflict is a hypocrite. I would think that the Crusades and the Inquisition would have taught us that a long time ago.

The basic precept of all religions is based on the idea of living a peaceful and prosperous life.

Be well. Be happy. Peace.

Answer 6

I struggled for years through many of the same issues. I was a Catholic for 18 years. My parents are still very religious but I couldn't stand it any longer. The hypocrisy sickened me and I found the bible stories absurd (virgin birth, Noah's ark, Adam & Eve, Tower of Babel) No dinosaurs in the bible either, lol! Later I found that all Christian holidays are actually based on older pagan holidays (nearly all of them from Christmas to Easter) and many of the bible stories were older stories from Pagan religions.

I have studied many world religions, including Buddhism. I think humans are grasping for meaning to god and the afterlife and all of the religions are different interpretations of god. Some have little bits of truth, I believe. Whatever works for you, I say, that's fine. But I really believe people let religion run their lives and even lead them to bad decisions such as war and prejudice. I do believe religion in general has caused more pain and separation than good. People are scared and confused and do things blindly, thinking it's "for god" and leave all common sense out of their actions (religious war for example).

Personally, where am I now, I believe in reincarnation but I also believe in "heaven" of some kind. Basically, I believe this earth is a testing ground and we are here to learn through pain and joy what is really important in life. I don't think you have to believe in a religion but if it makes you a better person, fine.

You don't have to be atheist, you can be agnostic, like me. I believe in a god but not a religion. I don't think any god would be so vain that he/she/it must be worshipped. Respect others, animals, and our planet and use common sense!

Answer 7

Suggest you investigate things for yourself and come to your own conclusions. Suggest you rely on the evidence of how things actually are in the real world rather relying on what someone tells you or relying on something that was written in a book at some time or other by someone or other.
Use your brain and the answer to your question should become clear, although it might take a little while to discard any emotionally induced baggage accumulated along the way. Remember, the important thing is to assess how things really are in the real world, not how we (or others) would like them to be. Your question indicates you've already made a good start in that direction.

Answer 8

Religion does tend to separate people. Each religion gets a "holier than thou" attitude going on, and then reason begins to slip away.

Perhaps before going straight to Atheism (the knowlege that god does not exist), though, you should research Agnosticism. I think you might like it. It means something like "not knowing" as in "not knowing whether or not god exists" as that sounds like where you are sitting right now.

Blind faith is just silly. But so is blind Atheism. take the route of those who admit not knowing, until you have proof one way or another. Not proof like "sunsets are beautiful so god must exist" or "wars hurt people so god must not exist".

In the mean time, a fun religion is the church of the flying spaghetti monster. every friday is a religious holiday, so you can take off of school or work on its account. and there's pirates.
Link below under "source"

Answer 9

You should believ in god. it is a personal decision. Even though history has had many problems religion wise. God is the only way. For me i am a christian it is a good thing. being an athesit will not help anything. that is my opinion. You can be a christian and still have fun and live your life. but to a certain extent. They have good christian rap. any way you should believe in god

Answer 10

It is good to see that you think for yourself instead of blindly accepting a preexisting belief system.

If you study different religions and how they came to be, you will become more skeptical of religion in general. This doesn't mean religion is bad, since many people find meaning through them. But it's not for everyone, and you are right that it often separates people. Look at all the wars, persecution, crimes, etc. that were committed in the name of religion. You don't have to even look at history - Just look at the world as it is today and you will see enough examples to make your head spin.

So make up your own mind, but above all, be true to yourself and don't subscribe to a religion just because your parents part of one.